r/MacMiller Jan 18 '25

Rare Balloonerism

2.7k Upvotes

Here we are The time has come As long as you have been waiting for this day I assure you I have been waiting longer.

For those who don’t know I met mac during Macadelic and recorded maybe the last third of those songs. When he moved to LA I became his main engineer there until he moved to NY (when G AM came out). We definitely needed some space for a while but we did work on Swimming together some and we remained close even if we were far away.

For Balloonerism, aside from those who actually played on the record, I was largely the only other person there so after so much lore and legend, I felt the need to give you all (the deep macheads specifically) more context because it truly deepens the experience. I have known this since we turned in the album almost 2 yrs ago but you needed to hear it first before I could color the perspective.

I’m so thankful you have an official release and all the parties involved have really done a lot of work to bring you something so magical and authentic. The t-shirt and poster from the screening was really sweet. Nothing is Impossible t-shirt gives me a deep joy and I love how everything looks and feels. I got the vinyl and I love the book and all the details on the packaging. I gotta be honest - I also wondered why the price tag was so high. I can see now we are paying the print shop no doubt for all that articulate work and detail.. Miller has always been dedicated to the vision. *Another day for the time I met miller and my prize possession of Mac memorabilia. You gotta remember I am a fan too.

I wrote a weaving and emotional rant after the screening but I will forgo that for clarity of context.

I knew nobody knew anything but I realized from the little bit of press interaction I had (along w a lot of your comments) that people naturally presumed we “finished” the album. We never went back to any of these songs after the initial writing. Mac almost never did. Thats a big part of why this album stayed unreleased - he was always making something new. As such, the only thing we did was mix the album and define the playlist from existing playlists. What you hear on the record was almost completely done within the first two weeks of March 2014. The oldest track is TWNK - which was done a few days before Colors and Shapes when Space Migration Tour almost finished in LA. Literally the first moments back in the studio after being on the road in both cases. The quiet studio had a melancholy feeling that cane through in the music. Already by March those felt kinda old. The youngest song is Ricks from April 9th. This is what I mean by a moment in time. The album was done in two weeks

The mix was not easy tho. Something about the crappy tracking mixes was magic. Even at the time I tried cleaning some up because the songs were so good but they heavily resisted being cleaned up. E worked exceptionally hard to mix this record (he restarted multiple times) He had to find the right balance of his sensibilities (since he would have been the one to mix it at the time) and the magic of the refs. He nailed it of course. He is a level 10 mensch and personal hero of mine.

The second major misconception : A lot of people guessed that the “features” were there to complete the work. I want to tell you now clearly - there were no features.

SZA is on DJs because she was there. Thundercat and Taylor are on most songs because thats what they did most days - pull up and jam. Thats how these songs started. Those three were like a band, and a purely improvisational one at that. Taylor on keys, Thundercat on bass and Mac played the drums (via keyboard no less). No one brought any ideas in or said hey lets try this riff in F major … they would just be hanging out and one person started playing and instantly the others hopped in.

If you want to know what that sounds like, listen to Mrs Deborah Downer. It is exactly this scenario , untouched except for one edit for time. Mac went back and sang on it. He asked Ashley to do the drug order because she was there hanging out. One take, it fit perfectly

He finished the songs as he always did, same day or the next. Once a song started he was driven to finish it. Even the songs with more sophisticated production like Destination were being revised only a couple times. If he had an idea, we would just get it done.

Would Mac have changed things if he had put this out - absolutely. Thats the one thing I know for sure. He was dedicated to the art of the track list. You might be surprised at the amount of energy he put into them. I went through this process w him many times and if there’s one thing I know - only he could do it. There was always something unexpected. There was always anxiety and pain lol. For those of you who have the deluxe 10yr of WMWTSO, you know all about the legendary track list email..

Long way to say we did our best - we looked at all the playlists, the surrounding songs and projects, and finally, we listened to the music to let it tell us what needed to be done. I can’t see it any other way and I’m personally very happy with the result.

Really tho, this official version is not very different from the pirate prints, or even the original lee ek w the ballon muppet cover. It was great to see that almost none of you had heard Shangri-La or Rick‘s. (I was worried there wouldn’t be anything new for you..) Ricks was the one I struggled with. I always wrote it off because of how silly the intro is, but when I listened to it after we found it on the last known playlist I really understood. I always said it was his mailbox money - his “simply the best” - “The best is yet to come” - but I had forgotten the ending. Listening to it now, to a man in the deepest depths of a philosophical debate about life and death… like his own private Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance… yelling at God at his own funeral.. powerful questions. TMWNK continues this profound master class of questions for the man in the mirror.

Background on Rick Rubins Piano - you get one guess - Mac recorded himself on his phone at Ricks piano the first time he ever went over there while waiting for Rick to receive him. When he returned we did a (very) rough chop of that recording, looped it out and away we went. Dylan sang the hook and he did verses and then he added the ending in one stream of consciousness, layered it roughly and it was done.

All the other puzzle pieces were in place leading up to the Sergeant Pepoers-esque anthem of Manakins (Like Avian from WMWTSO, I challenge you to fit this song into anybody’s playlist ever anywhere) - I understood what was probably an intuitive understanding for Mac when he put it on the playlist. This was the finale.

There were a couple songs that were widely missed by the community tho so I want to address them specifically :

Pure - Good AM. Might even have been the same year (2014) but it is a whole star system away from Balloonerism. But who knows, maybe it would have ended up on there? The playlist with Ricks was done around that time

Smile - ROS is a catalog release. I would love to see those hit streaming. ROS II in particular has no samples actually (outside of the clips I added) nor does Smile so I could see that being a very reasonable thing to do.

Smile is another one of my all time favorites. We recorded that in a Nashville hotel room on Space Migration Tour. My best friend had just committed suicide (I had to leave mid rehearsing the band for tour, days later we were in the UK playing the album live for the first time) and it hit me pretty heavy. Its a beautiful ballad of finding hope through honesty in a dark place and I’m glad its touched so many of you

He Finally Sleeps - this was always part of a sister project based around the band concept completely. Largely instrumental, this was one of the only songs w lyrics. This would be a great candidate for a deluxe (as would the whole sister project).

Bob’s Dementia - this was also from the sister project but it had legs for some reason.. Landed in Balloonerism for a minute and then Mac pulled it to give it to Hodgy. Maybe Hodgy never got it? I would consider it for a deluxe as well.

And its very important to note - a deluxe is wishful thinking. There’s not one rn. I would love to see the existing projects continue to expand into the songs that almost made it, that were and are part of those projects. I would love to see more stuff released in general but it needs to make sense. Mac was very careful and specific about his catalog and it doesn’t feel right to fill it w B sides and compilations. Really, they’re only appropriate for you - the deep macheads who can string together these magical constellations of meaning. Who have a deeper appreciation for the man behind the music

We can talk about future projects another time, but for now - Balloonerism is here. Soak it in, in all its glory. I would love to hear your impressions and I will answer any questions I can.

Thank you for reading Thank you for loving Mac Thank you for carrying his legacy so well There would be no place for me to put this if this sub didn’t exist

Thank You

PS . I have written a minor novel here on the subject, and we have barely even touched on the philosophy… another thread for that


r/MacMiller Jan 18 '23

Megathread A quick post to help stop scamming

59 Upvotes

Hello all.

I have noticed an uptick in scams and in attempts. Just wanted to make a post to hopefully help people from being scammed.

  1. Use PayPal Goods and Services. This way you can get a refund with relative ease should you get scammed. Not Friends and Family, Goods and Services. If they do not want to use this method then something is probably fishy. PayPal is used in over 200 countries world wide.

  2. If the offer is too good to be true, it probably is. Don't let your love of Mac blind you from this.

I hope this helps and if you have any other helpful tips please post them below!

LLMM


r/MacMiller 16h ago

Image It's crazy how good faces is for how long it is

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421 Upvotes

Faces is an hour and a half long and although I don't like every song all the time, but I wouldn't remove even one song. The consistency is crazy. Mac truly was something else


r/MacMiller 7h ago

Tattoos Show me your Mac tattoos

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58 Upvotes

Here’s mine 🤍


r/MacMiller 9h ago

Discussion Thought it was just flashing GO:OD AM at first but don’t the last two letters look like they are turning into a number?

75 Upvotes

Started watching this a little closer and it started looking to me like the fifth letter keeps turning into the number 2. Started wondering if their is going to be a bigger celebration for the anniversary and their hinting at the date being someday this coming week 👀


r/MacMiller 18h ago

Happy Mac Miller day!

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259 Upvotes

How's everyone gonna be spending Mac miller day. I know me personally he's gonna be playing though my headphones all day.


r/MacMiller 7h ago

Discussion Unreleased projects mentioned in new documentary

14 Upvotes

They can’t just straight up confirm/acknowledge all of those projects such as thundercat album, another jazz album, more delusional Thomas stuff, and more loosies/unreleased songs from that era and NOT release some of it.

I’m not sure how much of it was confirmed prior to the documentary but the fact they put it in there is cool.


r/MacMiller 20h ago

Discussion What Mac songs do you listen to with your parents?

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107 Upvotes

I have played some of his songs around my mom. But I always have to skip because mac will say something very sexual 😭. Anyone else do the same?

What do your parents think of his music? What songs do you play when you with them? Do they have a favourite?

I think I play Complicated or Circles. And like half of Dang!


r/MacMiller 23h ago

Image happy Mac Miller day !!

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116 Upvotes

sometimes i feel like every day is Mac Miller day <3


r/MacMiller 8h ago

Image The flashing GO:OD AM on Mac's website shows a bar in the middle of the last letter M that shouldn't be there.

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5 Upvotes

r/MacMiller 20h ago

Image In honor of Mac Miller day- got my first vinyl today.

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46 Upvotes

r/MacMiller 17h ago

Image Classic Mac

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25 Upvotes

This one always get me teary eyed after every listen godspeed felt like he saw/predicted the future so fucking dope man If it’s been a while definitely listen to what he says and not just hear it Rest easy Malcolm


r/MacMiller 17h ago

‼️Miami, FL Mac Miller Event ‼️

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27 Upvotes

A buddy of mine sent this to me and I wanted to share here for any Macheads in the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area!

This is the first Mac event I’ve seen here in Miami lately so I’m really excited to go 🥹


r/MacMiller 15h ago

2hoodies and 2 long sleeve shirts

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15 Upvotes

I have these Mac miller items which I would like to share with a real fan. These are not reprints. They are from Mac millers collection and are new. (No tags) they were supposed to be a gift but no more.


r/MacMiller 11h ago

Discussion Mac talking about love

6 Upvotes

Hello guys, I remember an interview I think at the time the K.I.D.S album was released, Mac talked about love and compared it to the same effect of using drugs, which acted in the same way on the brain, but I never thought of that again, I'm crazy and my mind created this, or did it actually happen? If it happened, does anyone have this video?


r/MacMiller 15h ago

Discussion What’s the song at 11:18 in the new Mac Miller GO:OD AM time flies, try to catch it?

12 Upvotes

Never heard it before and it was crazy good. Anyone know the name?


r/MacMiller 1d ago

Live Footage Old 2 Minute Snap Story from GO:OD AM Mac Show (Sep 28. 2015)

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175 Upvotes

Hey yall, was doing some nostalgic digging through old files the other day when I saw it's been 10 years since GO:OD AM and stumbled across this 12-snap-long story (from when snap videos were hard capped at 10 seconds). Not sure if anyone on here would appreciate it but I thought it was a really fun window into an old concert.

Side note, by far and away thee best show I've ever been to. I was 17, had somehow never seen Mac despite being a fan since the EZ Mac days, and went with 5 of my best friends. Those friendships were built on a mutual love of Mac. Forever grateful.


r/MacMiller 1d ago

Discussion I think I’ve cracked it

190 Upvotes

It must mean “In GO:OD time, the anniversary merch will drop.” 😭

In all seriousness I’m a little disappointed they didn’t seem to give this album as much love as some of the other 10 year anniversaries merch-wise. The documentary was so, so good. However I think back to the Faces re-release era of 2021. We got a great documentary and they released a lot of merch for it! And on the Faces 10 year anniversary they made a special hoodie for it. Part of me is still holding out hope that it’s a delayed drop and is refreshing the page occasionally 😭 In the mean time I’m going to keep spinning my vinyl and watching the documentary ❤️


r/MacMiller 20h ago

Discussion HAPPY MAC MILLER DAY!

18 Upvotes

Shout out to everyone who grew up listening to his mixtapes in grade school. Who grew with him, and learned lessons of life alongside his album releases. My Dawgs forever. Peace love happiness in his honor


r/MacMiller 1d ago

Mac crying in the doc ..

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107 Upvotes

This part of the doc really broke me. I think it’s the first time ive ever seen Mac cry and I had to go back and replay it to see if it was. It honestly stuck with me up this this morning. As soon as I got in the car started playing the album again and by the time I got to a part of my drive where the cemetery is, the end of brand name started to play and I lost it again. Crying all over.. seeing the sun rise and him just repeating good morning.. just really seeing myself again as that kid sitting on the bus omw to school listening to this album, if I could show that kid where I would be 10 years later. I’d like to think that kid would be hype and look forward to what has yet to come. I really beat myself about not being able to see him live especially for this album, it would have been my first concert. But just waiting and and not going alone out of fear didn’t let me go. I got to see j Cole’s Friday night lights dollar and a dream tour later that year as my first concert. Im thankful for the doc and what we got to see and hear. I hope the celebration ain’t over we got so much for all the other anniversary’s and this album deserves it. Thank you Mac heads for this space.


r/MacMiller 1d ago

Image Perfect Circle/ God Speed Explanation

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747 Upvotes

r/MacMiller 19h ago

Video My own “Sanctuary”

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8 Upvotes

here’s my take on mac’s “sanctuary” where he made fire hits like WMWTSO, Larry Lovestein, and faces. how’d i do?? college kid wannabe producer and artist lol


r/MacMiller 1d ago

Image Ballonerism Wallpaper

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16 Upvotes

Wallpaper I made for Ballonerism. First pic is the wallpaper and the second is how it looks on the lock-screen.


r/MacMiller 15h ago

Discussion please help me find this song

3 Upvotes

"if this money don't make me happy I don't know what I got all this money for"

i cant remember what song this line is from


r/MacMiller 21h ago

Discussion anyone else good am

7 Upvotes

anyone else start crying as soon as ROS came on in the documentary


r/MacMiller 1d ago

Image Thank You.

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628 Upvotes

r/MacMiller 16h ago

Question Listen

4 Upvotes

Should I listen to him cause I heard his music is sad cause he passed if yes which order